


Everything has changed

by riverwriteskinda



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Berlin is alive, Crack, F/M, Family Fluff, M/M, set after part 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:14:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23832211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverwriteskinda/pseuds/riverwriteskinda
Summary: Strangely enough, Raquel felt peaceful, happy,at homein this rustic place, surrounded by people she's considered enemies just a little while ago. It was ironic to think that the most persistent feeling of belonging she’severfelt was with a band of fugitive thieves and her criminal mastermind of a fiance. It was truly laughable.
Relationships: Berlin | Andrés de Fonollosa/Palermo | Martín Berrote, Raquel Murillo/Professor | Sergio Marquina
Comments: 83
Kudos: 367





	1. We've got so much to lose

He should have called Andrés months ago to tell him about Raquel, he knew that very well, but what he didn't know was how his brother would react to him dating the former inspector in charge of their heist. And he couldn't just drop that bomb on him over the phone, he had to tell him in person. He already knew what his brother was going to say; that he could have destroyed it all by allowing himself to fall for her and honestly, he did fuck up. Quite a few times. He knew he shouldn't blame himself for the deaths of Oslo and Moscow, but he did. 

He should have been there. He should have been there to alert the crew about the hostages' attempt to escape, but instead, he was with Raquel, falling in love with the one person who was off limits. And Oslo was the one who paid the price.

He wasn't there when Tokyo escaped either. Didn't make it back in time to tell her where to go and what he had prepared for her, so she had to return to the bank, having no other solution. And Moscow paid the price. He was so close to losing his brother, too, as the police got increasingly closer to the tunnel, but luckily he had enough time to escape the Mint. 

Now, the crew was reuniting to plan the most outrageous heist ever, in order to save Rio. He knew the plan was crazy but he owed it to the boy to try. He couldn't have another body on his hands. No. He had to save him.

He asked Andrés to come a couple of days before the others, so he could have some time with him before it all started. He never knew when it was the last time he would see him, the last time they would talk. They never knew if this time they said goodbye it would be for good. Every conversation they had in the past few months felt like it could have been the last, yet here they were. Reunited again. Sergio couldn't be happier. But the happiness wouldn't last too long. It never did. 

"Hermanito! There you are." Andrés' face was all a smile as he spotted his brother on the sidewalk and quickened his steps.  
It was truly a marvelous day in Rome, as the sun was brightly shining and the cars were buzzing constantly. Pictures, laughter and joy were filling the streets as tourists were wandering, stunned by the beauty of the city. Who would blame them? Italy was a dream. Especially in the summer. They had shared so many happy memories here and for a moment, they were both taken back in time to their 20s, when they first arrived in Rome together and it just felt like nothing has changed. But it did. 

Andrés was walking with his usual grace and grand posture, approaching Sergio and dragging him into a long embrace. And even though the older man tried his hardest not to look suspicious, he noticed his brother looked slightly tired, ill. His face was so pale, considering he just came from the Philippines, and he looked somehow skinnier, smaller. Sergio felt a big lump growing in his throat. He knew that look. It was the same as his mother's, few months before her death. He buried his face in his older brother's neck, holding him so tight he might disappear. Tears were threatening to escape his eyes, but he didn't allow them to fall. He knew how much his brother resented pity and how much be hated being treated like an already dead man. He didn't want to be seen as a victim. Ever. That's why most people didn't even know about his sickness. He kept it a secret so he could enjoy the last months of his life normally, living to the fullest, embracing the end with the brightest smile on his face.

"I know we haven't seen each other in quite some time, but you've never hugged me like this, little brother. Everything all right?" He finally let go of the older man, quickly wiping his tears before looking into his eyes. They had the same lively spark and his cheeky grin hasn't changed at all. Not even one bit. Not even when death was making his way into his soul, crawling inside his body. Nothing could break Andrés' character. Not even death. 

"Yes, yes, I'm just happy to see you. I missed you. It's been too long." He grabbed the base of the man's neck and closed in the hug once more, patting him slowly on the back. He didn't want to let go. But he had to. 

"It's been too long, indeed, hermanito. Now, tell me what's the reason behind this assembly? Are you in trouble?" 

"Me? No, no, I'm all good. It's... it's Rio. They caught him. Come on, I'll catch you up on the way inside." 

The monastery was as grand and astonishing as Berlin remembered. This was the same place where over five years ago, he first came up with the crazy idea of robbing the Bank of Spain. Back then, Sergio thought he'd never pursue it, but now he was forced to. They went into Sergio's office, a long room with only four pieces of furniture: two stools, one desk and the blackboard. The rest of the room was empty, apart from the tons of papers and photos which were either laying on the ground or tapped to the stone walls. It was just perfect for when Sergio needed to think and had enough space to pace from one corner to another. 

"Tokyo just couldn't resist being a housewife, could she? But still, I'm impressed she resisted for over 3 years. It must have took a lot of restraint and willpower to stay on an exotic island with the one she supposedly loves." 

He grabbed an unopened whiskey bottle from the desk and poured himself a drink. Sergio even prepared glasses and ice for him, he was always so thoughtful. 

Andrés offered one glass to his younger brother out of courtesy, but really expecting to be declined, as usual. Strangely enough, Sergio accepted and grabbed the glass quickly.

Taking a closer look at his brother, Andrés realised something was different. His brother was wearing a floral, dark blue hawaiian shirt, and shockingly, the first buttons were open. And he was wearing jeans. Blue jeans. He actually looked stylish for once, which was even more of a miracle than Tokyo's three years of loyalty and dedication to one single person. He's always made fun of his style and the guy standing in front of him now didn't look at all like his brother. Where were the plain suits? Where were his glasses? Not that he missed them. Not at all. Wait. Was his brother really wearing trainers? He never thought he'd see the day Sergio looked so relaxed. So happy. 

"Andrés, please, Silene feels guilty enough. She'll arrive in two days, so I have to ask you to empty yourself of all shady remarks before she lands."

The younger man said, as he was pacing in his office after emptying his glass. He looked lost in thought for a moment. Impatient. Even a bit frightened.

"Silene? You finally dropped that crazy idea with the city names? It did grow on me, though, you know? It sounds so much cooler than our actual names. It suits her much more, too." 

"No. The rule stands. No names. No personal relationships." As he said the last three words, his hands went to his nose, unconsciously wanting to adjust his glasses. He always did that when he was nervous, but this time his glasses weren't there. 

"Speaking about that..." Berlin moved into his seat, looking straight into Sergio's eyes. "When are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" 

Sergio stopped in his tracks, petrified after hearing his brother's words. He started rambling, looking awkwardly at the door. "Excuse me!? What? No, no, no, it's not..." 

"Oh, come on, hermanito. You suddenly got style and you're visibly more relaxed. You don't even have your glasses. You look like a different man." He went on to grab the bottle of whiskey once more, giving his brother time to answer, but he didn't. Instead, he kept staring at the door until a familiar voice broke the awkward silence, only to replace the awkwardness with tension. 

"He does, doesn't he?" 

Berlin recognized that voice right away, but was unable to turn and face her. He shut his eyes and stood there, not believing his ears. Right behind him, no more than a few meters away, it was Raquel Murillo, the inspector in charge of their heist, the same inspector who spread false rumors about him to the press, the same inspector who entered the Mint to make sure all the hostages were fine. It couldn't be her. There was no way the same woman would be standing behind him right now. He wanted to have imagined that voice, but his ears weren't lying. The woman he met in the bank was right behind him.

What was she doing here? Did the police catch them? Was she going to arrest them? Were a dozen officers about to burst into the room and take them to the big house? 

But nothing happened. No one entered the office and his hands were not in handcuffs. Still unable to move from the shock, Andrés looked at Sergio intently, as his brother was now walking towards the inspector. Clearly to tie her up, right? Or, or drive her way... But his demeanor showed no signs of fear or worry or surprise, like her appearance in the room was not shocking, like he was used to her so close. He had the biggest grin on his face as he approached her and Raquel mirrored his expression. She wasn't defending herself, she wasn't running, she didn't even move. She didn't seem at all frightened by Sergio's proximity. Quite the opposite, she looked calmer than ever with him by her side, smiling fondly at him. Andrés' eyes searched her desperately, so many thoughts and questions rising in his mind. He was looking for a gun or handcuffs or something to confirm his fears, but Raquel was dressed in overalls and a purple t-shirt, not something he would call a police uniform. Her attire and posture were different from the time he saw her in the bank, her guard was down and she seemed peaceful, joyful. Her wavy hair was covering her shoulders and he could smell her perfume from over here. He had a solid guess about what was happening, but he just couldn't comprehend the situation he was facing. Until he saw it. The truth was written in capital letters in their eyes, on their faces, in their gestures. Sergio's hand on her waist. Their close proximity. Their intimate looks. Their fingers intertwined...

"Andrés, I know this isn't the best way to tell you...Gosh, I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn't do it over the phone... I had to do it in person." he started awkwardly, before getting interrupted by Berlin's sudden outburst. 

"Are you actually insane, Sergio?"

Berlin slammed the glass loudly on the desk, cursing under his breath. The man quickly covered the room and was standing right in front of the inspector, scrutinizing her face. For a split second, he felt like he was back in the Mint, gazing into her eyes, stalling her by bringing the hostages one by one. He recalled his shameless flirting, but who could blame him? One look at Raquel and anyone would understand. 

She didn't even flinch as he made his way across, maintaining eye contact all the way, unbothered by his reaction. The one who moved was Sergio and his annoyance could have been seen from miles away. He put himself between them, stopping the older man from taking another step in Raquel's direction. He expected to see Berlin lose his temper about the relationship, but he hoped he would behave like a gentleman. At least in front of her. This fight was between the two of them, Raquel shouldn't be dragged into this. 

On the other hand, Raquel knew this was her battle, not Sergio's. She needed to convince Berlin about her feelings. She felt truly relaxed standing in front of her former enemy, now ironically soon to be brother-in-law. (If only Sergio would ever get the hint that she wanted to marry him.) Their first encounter was playing in the back of her mind, but she was trying to ignore it. There was no reason to think of it. They would have both behaved differently if they knew one day they would meet again. This time, thankfully, on the same side. She cackled seeing Sergio so worked up, so protective of her, even though both of them knew very well she didn't need protection. She could take care of herself well enough. 

"Andrés, would you please return to your seat so we could discuss this?" Sergio pointed at the chair, encouraging his brother to return to his place and have a polite conversation. He didn't seem to want to move, eyes still fixed on the inspector, analyzing her. He would never hurt her, or any woman, by the way. He might have done terrible mistakes in the past, and mistreating women was definitely at the top of the list, but he wasn't about to do it again. "Now." Sergio was slowly losing his patience, gesturing again in the direction of the chair. He was ignored once more. 

"Sergio, it's ok, we can talk here, too." Raquel broke the tension forming in the room and put her hand on Sergio's arm, trying to help him relax. He intercepted her hand, intertwining their fingers, and turned to give her an apologetic smile. Andrés watched their every move, as he was still trying to wrap his head around what was happening. He'd never thought he'd see her again and here she was, dating his little brother. The inspector from their heist. The only woman who should have been off limits. His ears started buzzing, suddenly feeling nauseated. There was no way the woman he met in the bank would throw away her life and switch sides for someone she barely met. They were probably in grave danger right this second and Sergio wanted to discuss how he foolishly fell in love with the inspector? How could he fall in this trap? 

"What's there to talk about, hermanito? Have you actually lost your mind? She fucking works for the police! They're probably on their way here to arrest us right now. Or maybe they'll wait until everyone has arrived so we can all carpool to prison together." Berlin wiped his forehead and ran a hand through his hair. He was reluctant to believe her and also ready to run for it the moment something seemed too suspicious. He didn't want to spend his last moments in jail and he wouldn't let his brother waste his life there, either.

"You're right. I did work for the police. But not anymore." Raquel stood tall and looked him straight in the eyes when she talked. Her hand was still in Sergio's and his thumb was drawing circles on the back of her palm, reassuring her. Berlin's eyes were fixed on the movement of their fingers, on what was such a small and genuine gesture. 

"You're really expecting me to believe you, Raquel? You can't possibly think that I'll fall for your charms. Unlike my brother, I have more experience with women. I've been married five times, you know." But he knew he was wasting his breath, as his words didn't sound so firm anymore. He had a lot of questions, indeed, but a big part of himself believed her. Even if he didn't want to admit it, she seemed honest, sincere and madly in love with his brother. Sergio chuckled and was a second away from sending a sarcastic comment about Berlin's marriages when Raquel stopped them both. 

She let go of Sergio's hand and stepped closer to the man, until their faces where only inches apart. As fierce as he remembered, she stood before him and confronted him. "My name's now Lisboa. Raquel Murillo, the inspector, died the moment she fell in love with your brother and gave up her life. I switched sides. I'm with you guys." The man raised a curious eyebrow and broke the eye contact to look at his brother. Sergio's eyes were now sparkling, as he was proudly looking down at the two most important people in his life. He wanted them to get along, he needed them to. He wanted to share his happiness with his brother.

"I don't expect you to trust me, Andrés." Raquel began again, this time with even more confidence. "At least not now, but I will earn your trust, I promise." There was so much conviction in her eyes and words that he was temporarily taken back there, inside the Mint, when she proved herself to be insanely brave or incredibly foolish to walk into the dragon's nest. And with a microphone, no less. Maybe the inspector was gone, but Raquel was the same powerful and strong woman. 

Andrés' hands were now on his hips as her words were turning in his head. He was still skeptical, but no one could lie this well. Secretly, he wanted her to be telling the truth. Not only because of his brother's sick puppy eyes, but because he liked her, admired her, wanted her around. She had to be telling the truth, and if she wasn't, she should be awarded an Oscar just for this performance. He let his guard down for once and stepped back, his fingers fidgeting. Berlin hoped he wasn't making an enormous mistake by trusting her.

"So Lisboa, hmm? I like it. It's...spicy. So tell me now, how the hell did this happen?" He broke into a smirk, pointing his fingers from her to his brother, eager now to learn the whole story. He was intrigued by their relationship. How did his brother get Raquel to switch sides in no more than a week? And more importantly, how did Sergio get a woman like Raquel to fall for him in the first place? He wanted to hear all of it.

"It's quite the story, really." Raquel replied amused, before locking eyes with Sergio. They shared a relieved smile, acknowledging their first success. They did it. They convinced Berlin. Now, the thought of facing the band wasn't that bad. They could do it all, as long as they were together. 

"I bet it is. Wait, wait, I'm way too sober for this." he said as he made his way back to his seat, pouring most of the liquor left in the bottle into his glass and emptying it just as quickly. "Now I'm listening."

"Let's discuss it over dinner, shall we?" Sergio proposed, patting Andrés on the back with one hand and embracing Raquel with the other. As long as he had his brother and the love of his life by his side, he was invincible. 


	2. We've got each other, for now

"Salvador Martín? Really, brother? You really went out of your way to find a convincing name, didn't you?" Andrés said, interrupting Raquel once more. She wanted to say it was the seventh time that evening, but she lost count after the third. 

Although she was trying really hard not to get irritated, the older man was making it impossible not to. Sergio was playing with the food in his plate, lost in thought, so she was alone to deal with Berlin and his unstoppable banter. They were sitting at the kitchen table, eating some food they were kindly given by the monks; some assortment of roasted vegetables they personally grew in their garden. And she was telling (more like trying to tell) him about the moment she found out Sergio was the professor, the criminal mastermind responsible for the heist, but he kept interrupting her. Again and again.

"I'm quite surprised you didn't figure it out on the spot, inspectora. Both names have the same initials. Also, beard and glasses? What more would you need? He was right under your nose." he was smirking at her, looking all arrogant and smug. Berlin wiped his mouth and leaned back in the chair, finding a more comfortable position to sit in and encouraging her to continue the story with a lazy gesture of the hand.

"So, we were at the bar, looking at pictures of islands, trying to decide where to escape to, when I saw a strand of orange hair on his suit. And it all clicked. Ángel's words, his sudden appearance in my life... All of it." She turned to look at her boyfriend and caught him watching her with a dumb grin on his face, biting his upper lip. She rolled her eyes and returned to her conversation with the older man. "Of course, I didn't want to admit it to myself, so I double checked with one of my coworkers about the clown's hair color... And well, I didn't like wh-"

"So that was what set you off? A strand of orange hair? Not the beard, not the glasses, not the old-school clothes, not the talks about how he calculates everything? A strand of hair!" Berlin chuckled loudly, interrupting her again. 

At this point, Raquel was one arrogant smirk away from jumping over the table and punching him in the face. Sensing her tension, Sergio placed his hand on her kneecap and finally joined the conversation.

"Well, she was a bit suspicious since the beginning. She pointed her gun at me twice, remember? It was only a matter of time until she would figure it out. I didn't doubt her for a second." They locked eyes again and smiled tenderly at each other, remembering the challenging times they've overcome. 

"So what did you do next? After you found out the man you were falling in love with was the famous Professor?" Andrés straightened his back and took a sip out of his drink, forcing the couple to focus their attention on him.

Raquel looked straight into his eyes before calmly replying. "I drove him all the way to the house in Toledo to kill him and burn his body, of course." After hearing her words, Berlin chocked on his wine and started coughing. His eyes quickly filled with tears, mostly from laughter. 

"You wanted to kill him?" He asked, after having calmed down.

"Well, of course." She said, unfazed. "Although I knew I wouldn't be able to go through with it, no matter how angry I was, because I loved him. After that, I just wanted to learn the truth. But, at the same time, I couldn't believe any word that came out of his mouth anymore. So I tied him up and went to the police station to get a polygraph. As you do." The man was watching her in disbelief now, probably doubting her sanity.

"After giving me a complete beatdown. Or have you forgotten about that?" Sergio added, playfully, while putting his arm around her. "I kept telling her I was in love with her and she kept slapping me." Raquel snuggled closer and rested her head on his shoulder. She was biting her lips, trying to keep herself from laughing.

"Well, that's one way of responding to a love confession, isn't it?" Andrés' smile was so warm and his eyes shined as he was tenderly looking at his brother and Raquel. "What's next?" He asked, just like a child waiting for his parent to continue his bedtime story. 

"He knocked me out and left with my car and my phone. I had to walk at least ten miles until I got to the main road and found a taxi." Raquel straightened her back and leaned on her elbows on the table, closing in the space between Berlin and her, turning all serious in a heartbeat. "Can you believe him, Andrés? He abandoned me there. I had to walk in heels through the mud and hitchhike my way back to the city." She turned to look back at Sergio with an intense and annoyed stare. His body tensed, utterly confused by the sudden change in her mood. He frowned, now glancing at his brother who was rubbing his forehead.

"Did you really leave her there and you left with her car?" dissaproval was written in his eyes and Sergio started panicking.

"What do you reckon was I supposed to do? I needed to help you guys escape the Mint and...and she threatened to kill me. She wouldn't even listen to me. She didn't even believe the polygraph test. What was I supposed to do? I had to save you." He was rambling now, stuttering, unable to form words properly.

Berlin's expression mirrored Raquel's for a second, before both of them broke into uncontrollable laughter seeing the scared and confused look on Sergio's face. The older man bent forward, holding his stomach as he couldn't stop laughing and Raquel was wiping the tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey, hey! Teaming up against me already?" He was a bit irritated by their unexpectedly blooming friendship, but also extremely enthusiastic. So he joined in the laughter.

"You make it so easy, babe." She barely managed to say. 

"We're going to be here until morning if we don't finish this story soon. Not that I don't enjoy messing with you, brother." Andrés stated, winking at the younger man. 

"Right, so, yes. I did take her car and went back to the city, but I gave Raquel her gun back and countless opportunities to shoot me and stop me, but she couldn't do it." His hand went to rest over hers on the table, but she quickly retreated it, avoiding his touch. 

"I never regretted not shooting anyone until that day." She paused to send an annoyed glance to Sergio. "I had a lot of time to think about that while I was walking and walking and walking." She shook her head slightly, enunciating each word.

"And what conclusion have you reached?" Berlin raised an eyebrow, curios about her response. 

"My conclusion was that the next time I'll see him, I wouldn't hesitate." It was her turn to smirk and shrug. "Sorry, babe." Berlin cackled after hearing her answer and ran a hand through his hair, intrigued. 

"She was so angry at me after being removed from the case that she gathered the footage from each shop in the area and reconstructed my way from the bar to the hangar. Could you imagine, Andrés, how long that took?" He continued and his brother looked closely at the woman before him. He had no clue what she was capable of, but he was sure that when Raquel was determined enough, she could do pretty much anything. 

"Definitely less than two hours." He concluded, titling his head to the side and grinning.

"Bingo!" she pointed a finger at him and smiled, a bit surprised at the accuracy of his guess. "And I almost had him. Until a pair of massive Serbians ambushed me."

"So this time, I tied her up." He said, a little too proudly, so she punched him in the arm. Sergio made a scene out of pretending to be gravely wounded, but only got two eye rolls as a response. Raquel and Andrés really seemed to be the exact same person sometimes. 

"And then he held me this bullshit emotional speech about how he'll be destroyed bathing in luxury on an exotic, dreamy island without me. And I was hooked." She continued, raising her hands and looking defeated.

"And one year later, she came to Palawan and her phone died." 

"And you know how that went." Raquel finally concluded. "So what do you think?" she asked Andrés, smirking at his overwhelmed expression. 

"This might be one of the few moments that I am rendered speechless. Truly. All other love stories fade compared to yours." 

"Even the stories of your five marriages?" she teased. 

He just winked at her mischievously and raised his wine glass, grinning from ear to ear. Sergio analyzed him for a second, asking himself whether or not his brother was about to cry. "A toast for you, Raquel, for attacking my brother so many times until he fell for you." She snorted into her drink after hearing his statement and both men followed suit, bursting into laughter. 

"No need to attack me anymore." Sergio said sneakily, whispering in her ear and putting his arm around her hips, bringing her close. Forgetting their company, they gazed in each other's eyes for a long moment, completely enchanted. 

"Lovebirds" Andrés broke the spell. "I haven't finished. Thank you, Lisboa, for never having a phone charger or a power bank, so Prince Charming right here was able to come to your aid not once, but twice." They clicked their glasses together and drank the wine. Raquel couldn't stop thinking about the meaning behind this toast, but maybe that's what Berlin did; hide behind good humor and a mysterious grin, wanting to feel untouchable and avoid his genuine, overwhelming feelings. She knew how that was; living with your walls up. She did that for eight long years. Maybe they were more alike that she thought. 

"Segio, I also have to thank you for stalking Raquel, using her for information and of course, for tying her up. Otherwise we wouldn't all be here, enjoying a lovely evening together." He was so over the top, she wanted to punch him again, but his next words made her desire of slapping that smirk off his face dissapear.

"And Sergio, just marry her already, you buffoon."

Raquel yelped and nudged him in the stomach. "What he said." She winked and stared at him for a moment insistently, making sure he took the hint. How many innuendos would this man need until he went down on one knee and finally proposed to her? She was beginning to think she had to do it herself.

"Come on, the fun's over. Who wants to do the dishes?" The woman asked, bringing them back to reality, but it wasn't much of a question as she looked straight at Sergio, who started gathering the plates even before making eye contact with her.

"Listen, Raquel." Andrés approached her, the moment Sergio left the room. "I don't know what you did to him, but I'm thankful. It's such a relief to know he's got you by his side. If I'm honest, I never thought I'd get to see this day. My brother, the biggest hater of any romantic feelings, head over heels in love." He was rambling and Raquel stopped him, getting the sensation that he might not ever stop talking if she let him. 

"So that's what you truly wanted to say in that exaggerated speech, isn't it? How long have you got, Fonollosa?" she asked, looking straight in his eyes and nudging him in the stomach.

"I was beginning to think I didn't make quite a lasting impression the first time we met. I was actually offended that you would consider me someone not worth remembering. Funny how life works, huh, inspectora?" He avoided her question, hiding again behind a facade.

"Forget how you shamelessly flirted with me in the middle of a heist? No way." She gave up, letting him have this and not intending to drag the information out of him. He would talk about it when he was ready. 

She searched Berlin's face for answers as he stared into the distance, avoiding her gaze, but couldn't find much. His skin seemed pale and the bags under his eyes weren't encouraging, but he held himself with so much composure, you wouldn't notice anything if you weren't actively looking for signs.

He finally looked at her after regaining control and softened his smile. "Not that long, but it's all right. Now I can say I've seen it all." He tilted his head in Sergio's direction and she rolled her eyes at him, but she wasn't annoyed. She saw him differently after tonight. The man had a heart. A big one. And he cared a lot for his brother, but pain and misfortune played a big role in the life they've lived. They were all broken, damaged by the process, but they were able to forget and heal. It was never too late. 

"I'm here, you know? And I'm not leaving." she finally replied to his unspoken question. "He's stuck with me. And you are, too."

He nodded, gently touching her arm before excusing himself to go help his brother with the dishes. 

"She's a keeper, Sergio. Don't mess it up." He warned his brother as he entered the room. The younger man turned from the sink to look at his sibling, before splashing him with water. 

It ended with both of them wet to their core, but happier than ever. Raquel had to separate them, just like children, before flooding the whole monastery. They went to their rooms afterwards, they all needed a good sleep before everyone was here and the chaos would start. Raquel and Sergio almost forgot they had to break the news about the two of them dating to the whole team. Silene was arriving tomorrow and she was a handful. Their first challenge. But until tomorrow they had tonight and there was no point on dwelling on what will be. 

"So, do you think he liked me?" she jokingly asked after finally getting in bed. Her head was resting on the man's chest, she loved falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. And he was softly kissing her forehead and playing with her hair. Hearing her words he stopped and moved so he could look her in the eyes. 

"I think he likes you more than he likes me." He kissed her again, this time on the nose and both cheeks. In less than a second, his kisses turned from small pecks to teasing and hot. "And if you'd like, I could show you how much I like you." he made his way to her lips and left her completely breathless. She backed away, looking at him with curiosity.

"Didn't you just lecture me and Andrés about the importance of a good night's sleep?" She gasped as his hands crawled up her shirt and his lips and teeth were working her neck and shoulders. "Did you just lie to your brother to get me into your bed?" 

"So what if I did? Will you punish me?" Her hand slipped into his boxers and she took control of their kiss.

"You bet I am." 


	3. Fight or Flight

She was awakened by a loud noise coming from the hall and figured it must have been the monks, going to pray or doing whatever they did. Or maybe Berlin. That man seemed like the most elegant and gracious person in the world, but sometimes he could be very clumsy. By looking through the window, Raquel realized it couldn't have been later than 6 am. The sun was barely blooming on the horizon, his golden petals stretching into the mass of blue. No one should be awake at this hour. 

She rolled over, wanting to lay her head on Sergio's chest and go back to sleep, but his side of the bed was empty and cold. She frowned and called out his name into the darkness. She couldn't see him clearly, as her eyes were adjusting to the blackness, but she figured he was just a few feet apart. A few feet too many. 

"Why aren't you sleeping, babe?" She whispered into the darkness and patted the bedsheet on his side of the bed, encouraging him to return. "Come back here." Few seconds later, there was no response. So she sat up and raised her hands, stretching them forward, towards him. "It's 6 am, what are you even doing?" She rubbed her tired eyes and saw Sergio finally approaching.

When he reached the bed, he leaned over and cupped her face, leaving a tender kiss on her lips, before whispering. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to bed, sleepy head." The whisper sent shivers down her spine and suddenly, sleep was the last thing on Raquel's mind. She put her hands at the base of his neck, dragging him into a more passionate kiss. 

His lips were even sweeter than she remembered from the previous night. Her heart was beating faster and faster, feeling in need of more contact, skin on skin, kissing just wasn't enough anymore. Her hands went down, wanting to get him out of his ugly pyjama but instead of reaching the familiar buttons, her hands found a silky, rectangular piece of clothing. A tie. She backed away, tilting her head to the side, analyzing him. He was avoiding her gaze, looking out the window, opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to answer her unspoken question, but he couldn't. He had no idea what he was supposed to say. He took off his glasses and scratched his face, while Raquel was staring at him intently, her brows drawn together. She was searching for an answer in her mind and she wasn't too happy when she found it. 

"Because Tokyo is arriving today, right? That's why you dressed like this again. Like...like the professor." She pointed to his bland, white shirt, black tie and atrocious grey blazer. She should have burned that monstrosity when she had the chance and now it was too late. He just nodded distantly, unable to find the words or the courage to look her in the eyes. He felt he was disappointing her, throwing away all they built together. There was no way to explain this without looking like a total freak.

"Talk to me, Sergio." The woman insisted, caressing his cheek and forcing him to look at her. She hated when he was shutting her out like this. The walls they worked so hard on bringing down, all up again. He should have known better than this. After all they went through, there was nothing that could surprise her anymore. And even if it was, she was here for him. No matter what.

"I love the person I am when I'm with you, Raquel." He finally broke the silence. He was still avoiding her gaze, but at least he was talking. To Raquel, that was a small, but important step. He was rubbing her inner thigh, drawing circles on her heated skin mindlessly. It didn't help her concentrate. Quite the opposite. It was driving her insane. "You make me a better man, the best man I can be." He stopped and smiled softly, placing a kiss on her forehead, before turning rigid again. "But to them, to the band, to Tokyo, I am the professor. And I need it to stay that way. No personal connections." She sighed deeply and hugged him, even though all she wanted to do was fight the stupid ideas residing in his head. For a man so academically smart, he was so painfully unaware of his feelings and coping mechanisms. 

"Let me tell you what I think, babe." She added, still holding him close. "You never calculated you'd care so much for these people. Never considered you'd get so attached to them, so you hide behind these horrible suits like they're your armor. Because you need to appear like this cold, emotionless person." 

"You don't like my suits? he mumbled into her shoulder, while playing with her hair.

She ignored him and insisted, not wanting to back down. "Think about each person from the team, Sergio. If you tell me there's one you wouldn't die for, one for whom you wouldn't risk your entire life... If you tell me there's someone in that group that you don't consider family, I'll back off. After all you've been through, there's no way you could still be the professor to them." 

He remained quiet because he knew she was right. This team was all the family he had and needed. He didn't have to be the professor anymore. 

"This isn't about the damned suits, babe. This is about you being scared to admit you broke all of your rules. You made personal attachments with the members of the team, you fell in love with me..." She caught his head in her tiny hands and kissed him fiercely. "Tell me, Sergio, does this feel wrong to you?" 

He didn't answer. Not through words, at least. He grabbed her hips and rolled her over, roughly pining her down on the bed. They quickly got out of their clothes, not losing any time.

*

"Look who finally got out of bed!" Andrés commented as Raquel and Sergio made their way into the kitchen, hand in hand. He was sitting on a stool, looking at the screen of his phone, only stopping from scrolling to greet the couple. "Morning, lovebirds! I made pancakes." He pointed to a plate near the stove, where more than a dozen deliciously-looking pancakes were waiting. 

"Told you, babe. Told you. I'm never wrong when it comes to pancakes." She made her way to the stove, overly excited, only stopping to brush her hand on Berlin's shoulder and mutter a small appreciation. She completely ignored the confused expression on Sergio's face, focusing all the attention on the appetizing food in front of her.

"You never cook." His hands were now resting on his hips, brows coming together. He was pacing around the room, looking for an answer. "Is someone else here?" 

"Sergio." Raquel intervened, giving him a dangerous look as she was now sitting next to the older man at the table, stuffing herself with a pancake. "Come here and taste this, babe. They're absolutely delicious." She let out a satisfied moan before grabbing a second serving, her boyfriend was still refusing to move, watching his brother's face intently.

"Would you please sit down and stop acting like a child? Excuse him, Andrés, he's had a rough night." The man bit his lower lip and examined her face amused. 

"Oh, I don't know if I would call it rough. And not that your sex life is any of my concerns, but I have to ask... What were you guys doing at 5:30 in the morning?" Even Sergio snapped out of his trance to look outraged by Berlin's words. He saw his girlfriend's cheeks turning crimson, debating on how to respond. 

She chose to avoid the question and change the subject. "So we talked enough about us." Raquel said, between bites. "What did you do in the Philippines?" She stretched to grab a third pancake, when she saw a stranger walking into the room. At first she thought he might be a monk, but after looking closely at him, she was sure that wasn't the case. He was dressed in a black buttoned down shirt and jeans. 

"He mostly did me." The man said, which made Andrés explode into laughter. His smirk was quite similar to the man who was now trying to regain his composure, just a bit more mischievous. He had black short hair and piercing green eyes. Raquel turned to look at her boyfriend for answers, but failed to decipher his expression. 

He covered the room, placing himself in front of Sergio and opened his arms. The younger man cursed under his breath, before hurrying to hug his old acquaintance. "Never though I'd see your smug face again." They met at the middle of the room, embracing tightly and giggling. The two men were took their sweet time, patting each other on the back, chatting, while Raquel and Andrés shared impatient looks. Andrés touched his watch several times, while tilting his head in Sergio's and the other man's direction and she just grinned at him. 

The two men finally separated and began walking towards the table, Palermo rapidly positioned himself behind Berlin, both hands resting on his shoulders. The older man looked up at him, smiling warmly. "Told you he would be happy to see you." 

"I am happy to see you, Martín. Truly. But you should've called, at least." He seemed conflicted, happy to see his old friend and confused about the implications his sudden appearance had on the plan. 

"Isn't anyone going to introduce us?" The woman asked awkwardly, curiosity winning her over. 

"Of course, of course, sorry. Martín, this is my girlfriend, Raquel. And Raquel, meet Martín, he's practically my second brother."As soon as Sergio said that, the two men situated in front of them grimaced. 

"Only spiritually." Martín reassured her. 

"Who knows? Maybe you'll be his brother in law soon?" Berlin nudged him, beaming, but the other man ignored him. Sergio was now beginning to have a migraine hearing those two talk. He always knew they'd end up together, they had to, but he still wasn't ready for it. 

"I will pretend I haven't heard that. That's no way to propose. After five marriages I thought you knew better." he replied rolling his eyes. Berlin only smiled tenderly at him. Of course that wasn't the way he proposed, but a bit of teasing never hurt anyone. Suddenly, Martín remembered they weren't alone and focused his gaze on the woman.

"Pleasure to meet you, Raquel." he said, shaking her hand over the table and exchanging surprised looks with Andrés. "Is he paying you to pretend you're his girlfriend, gorgeous?" She giggled. Loudly. And Sergio looked at her like she just stabbed him in the back.

"Por favor! Behave, Palermo." His tone was now firm and commanding, scolding him for crossing the line.

"Lo siento, lo siento." he quickly apologized to the younger man, but his eyes remained fixed on Raquel. "Have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere... You know, I never forget a beautiful face." He turned to look back at Sergio, trying to figure out why she looked so familiar.

"Mi amor, you may recognize her," Berlin started after taking a sip from his coffee, "from the news..." He paused, pressing his lips together, containing his laughter. "Or maybe from that time when Sergio showed us his papers on the Royal Mint heist." The younger brother rolled his eyes at him and sniffed.

Martin's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the ground. "Hermano, when I said screw the police, I didn't mean it literally." 

*

They slowly eased into a more pleasant conversation and got along incredibly well. With a few exceptions, obviously. 

"I can assume you liked the pancakes?" Martín asked the woman as he was dragging his chair next to Andrés. He softly pinched his lover's cheek, before turning back to her.

"Yes, they were absolutely delicious. Thank you." She smiled back at the two men, admiring the tenderness in their gazes. She literally just met them, but their shared connection and love was vibrating, like a magnetic field surrounding them both.

"I was afraid you wouldn't like them. I promise I'll make donuts next time." Berlin moved in his seat, scratching his nose as the woman just nodded and smiled politely.

Maybe it wasn't love vibrating, Raquel thought, maybe it was more like a field of bad jokes and smugness.

And then again.

"So you play volleyball well, Raquel?" The newest addition to the group wondered. The other three frowned, exchanging troubled looks. Even Berlin seemed lost by the sudden question.

"Uh, I never played." She replied, unsure how the topic changed from tropical islands to volleyball. Sergio leaned back in his chair and put an arm around her waist. A gesture that meant "I'm here for you.". She raised a brow at him, as to say "If this is another police joke, I'm actually going to kill him." 

"Really?" he continued. "Well, you would have been great at it, because as a former policewoman, you must be good at serving and protecting." 

Lisbon was considering her options. If she gave in and jumped over the table to wipe that smirk off his face, he would know he irritated her and would never stop telling those jokes. But nodding and smiling, patiently waiting for him to stop, wasn't going to cut it either. 

Sergio seemed to have heard enough of his jokes, too. He scolded his old acquaintance, giving him a speech about respect and boundaries.

"Martín, listen." She interrupted Sergio from his monologue, leaning on her elbows and looking him in the eyes intently. "As I told Andrés during our encounter yesterday, I did indeed work for the police. But I left that life behind. Here, my name's Lisbon. And I would appreciate if you would start calling me that and preferably kept your horrendous jokes to yourself."

She got up from her chair and walked into the interior garden to get a breath of fresh air. His jokes weren't the ones getting on her nerves, not exactly. He just kept reminding her of her old life, the one before meeting Sergio, the one without love and full of fear. And she didn't want to think about that anymore. She thought she could reinvent herself, start again and do it right this time around. And she intended to succeed, no matter how hard it would be.

The smell of roses and freshly cut grass was hypnotizing and so refreshing. If she could, she would just stay like this. With the sun shining down on her face, nuzzling her skin... It all felt like a dream. 

And then she saw her at the other corner of the garden. Silene Oliveira. Tokyo. She was enjoying the rays of sun, looking peaceful and calm. Well, that was until she saw Raquel. Not one second later, Tokyo started marching across the garden with her fists clenched. Coming towards her. Maybe it was a nightmare, after all. 


	4. For you, I'd start a riot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got inspired to write this while listening to "The man I am by The Scene Aestethic". I'm sorry if this is a mess. I had no idea how to write Tokyo's reaction, to be honest. Mostly because that scene on the beach where she finds out about Sergio and Raquel's relationship is just marvellous. So, yeah. Hope you'll still enjoy this!

His eyes haven't left Raquel's face for a while, watching her graciously smiling at Martín, when in reality she probably was thinking of ways to kill him without producing too much chaos so the monks wouldn't notice. And if he was honest, he was one police joke away from helping her hide his body. Andrés knew he could've just stopped him, but at this point he was just waiting to see when she would snap. Or if. Was she really that determined to get along with Sergio's old friend that she would elegantly dodge every single curveball he'd throw at her? Every single hilarious, yet mindblowingly offensive joke? Will she just stand there and just swallow her words? He almost felt disappointed by her lack of response, of fighting back. 

Now Sergio was rambling and rambling about the importance of respect and boundaries and he was getting a migraine just from listening to his brother's babbling and Raquel seemed to feel the same way as she finally interrupted him. Andrés was curious to hear what she had to say, but his head started spinning and he was beginning to feel quite dizzy. He tried blocking it out and focusing his attention on something else, anything else, but failed. He saw her leaning over the table and looking the man straight in the eyes, having heard enough. "Martín, listen. As I told Andrés during our encounter yesterday, I did indeed work for the police. But I left that life behind. Here, my name's Lisbon. And I would appreciate if you would start calling me that and preferably kept your horrendous jokes to yourself." It wasn't exactly what he expected, after what she's endured over this long breakfast, but he'll take it. Andrés slowly regained his composure, breathing heavily. He needed some air.

At the same time, Raquel left her seat and excused herself, making her way into the interior garden, probably for a gulp of fresh air. He heard his brother start his lecture again and he knew he just had to get away, too. He met Martín's gaze as he was rising from the chair, holding onto the kitchen counter. His legs felt heavy, but he didn't want to panic anyone. This happened all the time, courtesy of the Helmer myopathy.

"Andrés! Mi amor, are you alright?" Martín hurried forward and steadied him, before sharing a worried look with Sergio who was already by his side, all flustered by the sudden course of action. "Talk to me, what do you feel? Did you forget to take your pill today?" 

Berlin chuckled, softly caressing the wrinkles that appeared on Palermo's face. "Of course not. It's not my first rodeo, cariño. I just got overwhelmed from all the bickering. You two sound just like an old married couple." He escaped the other man's grasp and took a step back, scrutinizing both their faces. "You even look like one with all this frowning. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentleman," he said, leaving a light kiss on Martin's lips and walking away. "I'll go get some fresh air and talk to our dear Lisboa. I'll be back in a second, hmm?" 

Berlin was feeling dizzy, light headed as he made his way outside slowly, relying onto the walls for support. He closed his eyes, finding pleasure in the way the sun was caressing his skin. Raquel didn't notice him as she was gazing at the other end of the interior garden. At Tokyo. Who was coming towards her.

Raquel wasn't in the mood to deal with Silene's rather childish and impulsive behavior and her being irritated after listening to Palermo's jokes, would just make things worse than they already were. Seeing Tokyo marching towards her almost made Raquel call out Sergio's name, but she couldn't do that, couldn't show her that she was weak. Mostly because she wasn't. At all. She was just tired of having to prove herself and she missed Paula deeply. She just wanted to hug her daughter and fall asleep by her side, instead of dealing with a bunch of pretend adults. But she had to keep in mind that they were here for Aníbal, an innocent child unfairly caught in the crossfire. And truthfully, this was her life. With Sergio and with the band, planning heists. Who would have thought? She remembered all the reasons she had for choosing this path and started walking confidently in Tokyo's direction, maintaining eye contact. She had to earn everyone's trust. One by one. No matter how long that took.

"What the hell are you doing here, inspectora?" Tokyo asked, positioning herself few inches before her enemy, annoyed and confused out of her mind. What could Raquel Murillo be doing here? Considering her hands were not in cuffs and the inspector was just patiently waiting for her to finish screaming in her face, dressed casually in some black, oversized pants and paired with a white top, this could only mean one thing and she didn't even want to consider it.

"Tokyo!" Berlin said, approaching the two women and locking eyes with Raquel. His tensed expression easing into a warm and welcoming smile after the woman assured him, through a nod of her head, that everything was alright. "I see you've met Lisboa."

"Lisboa? Lisboa, mis cojones. " Tokyo puffed, scrutinizing the inspector's face before turning to her former compañero. "Qué coño es eso, Berlin? She'll betray you the first chance she has! What is she, like your sixth wife? Are you out of your actual mind? Where's the professor? What does he have to say about this?" Tokyo rushed towards the door, but Lisbon stopped her.

"De qué mierda estás hablando?" She said, keeping her from advancing any further and glaring at the girl, before turning to Andrés.

"Señorita Tokyo, you seem to have it all figured out already, don't you? She believes we're together." Berlin explained and it was their turn to burst into laughter as Tokyo was now scowling at them.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you're the only one who came to mind that would make such a foolish mistake. What, is there another idiot here who would fall in love with the inspector of their case?" The three just stared at each other as Tokyo was trying to put the pieces together. If it's not Berlin, then who was it? Definitely not Helsinki. And Denver was with Monica. And Rio... he wasn't even here. And that was everyone. Except... No, it couldn't be. She ruled out that possibility from the very beginning. There was no way. 

INSIDE, a few minutes earlier

Sergio moved, wanting to follow his brother, but Palermo quickly stopped him, putting a steady hand on his chest. "Just let him go talk to her. She has more chances than us combined to get something out of him." The man exhaled, returning to his seat and running both hands through his hair. 

Sitting there, Palermo looked like he just aged 20 years in the blink of an eye. The professor's head emptied, the previous events slipping out of his mind, as soon as he noticed his friend's cloudy eyes. "He still shuts me out. After all these years. After sticking by his side like a lost puppy. After how much I've endured, how much I've suffered. After all we've been through. He'll never change, will he? I'm just lying to myself. Again and again. But I love him. I fucking love him. I've always loved him. I have no idea how not loving him is. Sergio, say something, please." 

He was full on crying now and Sergio had no clue what he was supposed to say to comfort him. Should he lie? Should he tell Martín what he needed to hear or what he wanted to? Instead, he decided to change the subject. "So what... how did you two get together?" 

Palermo's eyes shined as memories flooded in, taking him back to more joyful times. "He came to me, after the heist. I thought I was finally over him. I had turned my life around. Entirely. I was actually happy after God knows how many years. And he came to me. And believe me, Sergio, all I wanted was to be with him, even if it made me miserable, even if it hurt, I couldn't care less. But somehow, I didn't give in, I resisted. And when he acknowledged that I had actually moved on with my life and I was happy for once... he did the worst thing he could've ever done. Worse than anything else he's ever done." 

His hands were shaking as he paused to pour himself a drink. The professor wondered what his brother could have done as he stared at the floor. "What did he do?" he finally asked, looking up at Palermo, who was biting his lower lip, holding back tears.

"He fucking left. That bastard left. Sergio, he fucking left! He did the selfless thing for once, allowing me to be happy without him." He smashed the glass to the ground, shattering it. He began sobbing uncontrollably, as frustration and anger boiled, curling inside of him like a blazing inferno, burning him from inside out.

"He apologized, he even fucking wrote me a letter! I was supposed to receive it the day he died and hermano... I didn't even finish reading it before I got on the first plane that would bring me to him." Martín laughed dryly as Sergio dragged him into a strong embrace. "And we had the greatest three years, travelling the world together. We went to Paris and Rome and Venice and Prague, Amsterdam, Santorini... everywhere. We did every crappy romantic thing you could find in those American movies he loves so much. And more. But honestly? It didn't matter. Because I was with him. And he finally loved me back. He loved me. Me!" he was shouting now, liberating himself of all the pain he had inside and there was a lot of it.

"And then he started having worse and worse episodes and pains... So, we returned to the doctor in Brussels who gave him those pills and found out that the medication stopped working, all of a sudden. For no apparent reason. It just stopped working." He remembered how desperate, powerless and defeated he felt as he heard the doctor's news and how there was nothing that he could do, except for being there for him and searching for other solutions relentlessly. But they found none this time. 

"And then he distanced himself from me. Again. I had to run after him from one place to another, cheerfully wiggling my tail as he was destroying himself in front of my eyes. And then you called and he jumped at the opportunity to do one more insane thing before... before, you know. And I came here after him, again. Like a lost puppy looking for his master. And he just lied straight to my face, reassuring me that he was fine, that he wasn't hurting." 

"Because I'm scared, Martín." Andrés' voice shattered the silence that fell over the two men as they cried on each other's shoulder. He returned alone, without Lisboa, Sergio noticed. "Three years ago, I felt at peace with the thought of dying. I was convinced I've done it all, seen all there was to see, experience all there was to experience. I firmly believed I knew all about love after 5 marriages. And then I was given a second chance at life and I finally did what i should have done from the start; be with you. And I realized I blew it. You were over me. You were happy, so I chose to leave. For you." They were standing inches apart, violently sobbing and choking from the tears. "And when I opened that door and saw you... Martín, my heart exploded and I have never actually been happier. Never." Berlin wiped his tears and kissed him breathlessly, before whispering softly. "In that moment I promised myself I will treat you and love you the way you deserve. And the moment I heard I had less than 6 months to live, I knew I will hurt you again, immensely. And I didn't know how to react and what to do. I love you so much, Martín. So much..." 

"Then marry me, Andrés." he blurted out. "Make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me." He kneeled before him without a ring, it didn't even matter, nothing did. 

"I'm a dead man, Martín." Berlin kneeled in front of him and cupped his face with his hands. "It wouldn't be fair to you." 

"Nothing is fair in life. You of all people show know that. So, Andrés de Fonollosa, will you do me the incredible honour of being my husband? What do you say? It'll be your only marriage that won't end in divorce and even though it's your sixth one, I'll be your first husband. It's like turning over a new leaf." They both grinned, looking intently into the other's eyes.

"It would be a nice change for once, wouldn't it? Of course I'll marry you, Martín. I love you. 'Till the day I die." They didn't even have time to kiss after rising to their feet, as Sergio, who somehow stayed in the room while this whole thing unfolded, ran towards them and embraced them. 

"Took you long enough." he said, which made the couple burst into laughter.

"You're one to talk, hermano." Berlin replied, rolling his eyes. "By the way, where are Tokyo and Lisboa?" 

"Tokyo's here?" he mumbled, looking at his watch and sighting. "Where is she?"

"Right here, professor." She entered the room with Raquel right behind her. "And look who's with me. Your girlfriend. Raquel Murillo, the inspector from our heist!" Her eyes were accusatory and she was gesturing like a child in Lisboa's direction, but she was so happy to see him. And he looked good. Extremely good. He didn't have his glasses on and he was wearing a tight, yellow pollo shirt and black jeans. 

"There's no need to explain who I am, he's met me." Raquel replied, smirking, which made the men in the room snort. Palermo almost chocked on his drink and Sergio was biting his lips harshly. The woman rapidly covered the room, and was now standing next to Sergio who put a steady arm on her hip, dragging her closer. 

"And she's got jokes. What could be better?" She rubbed her temples, glaring at the couple. "If anyone's got any other shocking news to break, speak now or forever hold your peace." 

"It's funny you say that, Tokyo. Apparently you were right about that sixth wife. Kind of." Andrés responded, excitedly. "We just got engaged." 

It had been quite an overwhelming day and unfortunately, it wasn't even lunchtime yet.


	5. Together, we're a family

Shortly after the heartwarming reunion with Silene and Andrés & Martín's announcement, everyone left the kitchen. Mostly because the couple wanted privacy and Silene said she wanted to relax, as she was worn out from her journey. Raquel didn't believe her. Not in the slightest. But it wasn't her place to say anything.

Sergio was swiftly moving through his office, rearranging the room, turning it into a classroom. Raquel was just watching him from her chair, as he was taking a step back after placing each desk, making sure they were all aligned perfectly. She had no idea where the hell those desks came from and she was beginning to feel a bit concerned after spending the last 10 minutes in complete silence. That if you don't count Sergio incoherent blabbering and the disappointed noises he made each time a desk wasn't in the perfect position. She knew this wasn't about the damned furniture because not only will they be moved the second the band would walk into the room, but it was a complete waste of time and energy. 

"Silene didn't seem too bothered." She finally said, tapping her foot on the floor and biting her nails. He just nodded, not even glancing in her direction. "Hey." Raquel rose from her seat and approached the man, hugging him tightly from behind. "We'll deal with them. Together. Right?"

"Of course we will. I don't doubt it for a second." He replied, as he turned and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Then what's the problem? I can see something's troubling you." Sergio fixed the position of his glasses and sighed loudly before responding. 

"It's the plan. There are too many things that could go wrong, so many variables. What if the governor won't cooperate? Or maybe the guards won't walk out with the secrets... I haven't had enough time to..." He broke off the embrace and paced nervously around the room.

"The plan is exceptional, Sergio." Raquel said, interrupting him and cupping his face. "You need to stop worrying about everything, babe. Listen, why don't I grab some snacks and we go over the plan one more time? Does that sound good?" She knew there was no point in arguing with him while he was in this mood. Whenever his mind was set on something, he wouldn't settle until he did it. So she offered to help, understanding his concerns, even though they've gone over that plan a thousand times. She was getting a little bit tired of hearing the same things over and over again. She knew it all by heart.

"It sounds great. Thank you." The man placed an innocent kiss on her lips, which shortly turned more and more desperate. His hands traveled her body and were now resting on her hips, bringing her in, closer to his body. She stopped him, even if it pained her to do so, but not before whispering a promise in his ear. Which led to even more passionate kisses. 

They somehow found the strength to part ways before getting too caught up into each other. They'll have plenty of time for that later. Sergio sat down in his chair, grabbing a red clipboard in which he had photos from inside the Bank and a few notes scribbled down. "I love you!" He shouted, forgetting about the papers to watch the woman exit the room. She stopped for a moment, smiling smugly and rolling her eyes before disappearing. The man stared at the door for one more moment, contemplating about how lucky he was to have Raquel. He'd be totally lost without her. He never wanted to find out what life without her was like. 

Raquel entered the kitchen in a hurry, feeling a bit light-headed from Sergio's touch. She wanted to be done with the plan as soon as possible and she was sure her partner felt the same way. She was so carried away, she didn't even hear the violent sobs coming from the the hall. She had a hunch who that was.

Against her better judgement, she decided to follow the noise. Silene was sitting with her knees to her chest at the entrance to the interior garden, her body quivering. She was holding so forcefully onto a couple pictures in her hand, like letting go of them would be the end of the world. The pictures must be of Aníbal, Raquel figured. 

"Silene?" she whispered as she was making her way through the hall. She sat by the her side on the cold pavement, looking in the distance, allowing the other woman to compose herself. Tokyo was chewing on her lower lip, trying to stop the sobs from escaping her mouth as she wiped her face rapidly and put on a smirk, before turning to the former inspector. But Raquel couldn't be fooled. Especially because Silene's red, swollen eyes were telling another story than her unbothered expression did, giving her away. 

"You again, inspectora? I though we were supposed to meet for dinner. That's at least 3 hours away. Or maybe you were eager to see me?" She leaned forward, closing in the space between the two women, distracting Raquel while she was gathering the photos from the ground. 

"I don't need to see the photos to know they are of Aníbal." She chuckled seeing Tokyo's raised eyebrows and slightly opened mouth. "If you want to help him, the first thing you need to do is stop blaming yourself. It won't do you any good." The younger woman parted her lips, ready to interrupt Raquel, but the former inspector shook her head. "I don't want to hear it." 

"I thought you came here to listen to my overwhelming feelings, to assure me everything will be alright, to give me a pat on the back, even." Tokyo's eyes beamed, amused.

"Not exactly." The woman replied, her hands going through the photos scattered on the ground. "I couldn't just walk away after hearing you cry." 

"I probably would've." She said, shrugging, while fighting to keep a straight face.

"I doubt that." Raquel nudged her with her elbow, rolling her eyes. "We'll save him. I promise." Her expression was now solemn, as she locked eyes with her former enemy and placed a hand on her knee. "Listen, Sergio and I were about to go over the plan one more time, do you want to join us?" 

Tokyo just nodded, not trusting her voice to speak, holding back a stream of tears. She picked up the photos and went to her room to leave them. Raquel waited for her in the kitchen, as she was putting together the snacks she promised Sergio.

"Professor! We're here!" An unfamiliar voice echoed through the monastery walls. She didn't recognize it, but figured it must be Nairobi. The whole place was vibrating from their loud steps and cheers. 

She felt a lump forming in her throat. They were all here. Raquel kept telling her feet to move, but her body wasn't responding. It took less than a minute before the group got to the kitchen. And even less than that for their smiley faces to change to tense and surprised frowns. 

*

Sergio wondered what snacks could take so long. Unless... his eyes left the papers in front of him and focused on his watch. The rest of the group was supposed to arrive soon. If they haven't already. 

He stumbled over his feet as he jogged down the stairs and stopped in front of the kitchen door to draw his breath. When he heard shouting coming from inside. "There we go again." he mumbled and pushed the door open.

Tokyo was standing in front of Raquel, trying to appeal to her former compañeros, but without having too much succes. "Calm down, Denver. She's one of us." 

The moment the professor walked in to the room, all conversations stopped. He scanned all of their outraged faces, whilst putting a steady hand on Raquel's back. He didn't need words to make sure she was alright, a quick nod of her head was enough. They understood each other differently. Their eyes spoke a language only they understood. Her panic eased as she felt him close. With him by her side, she could move mountains. 

"That's not how we wanted you to find out..." he felt like he's said those words so many times over the last few days. "I know this must come as quite a shock, but let's have a drink and talk this through. Shall we?" He gestured towards the table, waiting for them to move. Helsinki and Monica advanced hesitantly, while Nairobi looked at Tokyo for reassurance. After receiving an encouraging smile, the three of them found a place around the table. Denver was the only one still standing. His head was tilted to the side, scrutinizing the couple's faces.

"What the fuck is this, professor? That's what you were doing, while we were inside the Mint, fighting for our lives, following your fucking plan? Were you with her when the hostages escaped? Instead of informing us about it..." Denver slammed his hands on the table, waving his finger accusatory from him to Raquel. "She's the reason Oslo's dead. She's the reason my dad is dead. Because you couldn't keep it in your pants."

"Don't drag Lisboa in this, Denver. It's not her fault. If there's someone you need to blame, that's me. I've made my share of mistakes. Like all of us did." Sergio responded, calmly, tightening his grip on his girlfriend's waist. 

"Share of mistakes? Are you a fucking emotionless robot? Your "mistake" cost me my dad's life!" He was now shouting, moving his weight from one foot to another. "Instead of focusing on the plan, you were what? Falling in love with the fucking inspector from the case? Are you out of your mind?" The others at the table just watched him silently, without daring to say anything.

"Enough, Denver. That's enough." Tokyo said, gesturing in Monica's direction. "You're making a complete fool of yourself." 

"Exactly! Why do you think what you did is any different? In the span of 5 days you shot me, fell in love with me, asked me to give it all up for you and decided to raise another's man baby. How is that any different, Dani?" she finally exploded and left her seat to look him in the eye. 

"Monica... That's...it's different. Nobody died because of us. And you were a hostage, not the fucking inspector from the case!" He mumbled, caught off guard by her sudden outburst. 

"It's my fault." Tokyo tried again. "I shouldn't have come back to the Mint, I'm the one to blame, Denver." Nairobi shook her head, telling her friend to stop. She knew her words would only make things worse.

"That's not true, Tokyo, and we all know it. If he was where he was supposed to be, he would have given you the instructions and you wouldn't have needed to return to the Mint. Stop defending him. It's all his fault." His tone was even higher than before, as he was pacing through the room, fuming.

"Denver, please." Nairobi joined, after having heard enough. "The professor did all he could to save Moscow, you know that. But there was nothing..."

"And who knows, maybe you slipped a word about Rio's location to your little girlfriend here and she made a quick phone call." Denver continued, unfazed, like he didn't even hear Nairobi's words. And maybe he didn't. Anger and pain had that impact on people. You don't hear, you don't see anything else, only your sadness. "I bet she knows where he is and what they're doing to him. I bet her friends are on their way to put your sick ass in jail. And honestly, professor, you deserve it. I'm out." He banged his hands on the table one more time and cursed while exiting the kitchen. Only to return, seconds later, followed by Berlin who pushed him back into the room.

"Oh, what a nice reunion! I apologize for missing most of it. Good to see all of you..." His voice died in his throat when he saw the look on everyone's faces, especially the one on his brother's. 

"Sit down, Denver. All of you. Now." He waited a few seconds before everyone went back to their seat, sharing scared looks. Even Denver obeyed, hearing Sergio's tone. He knew he crossed the line as he watched the professor raise from his chair, fists clenched. It was his turn to stand.

"First of all, I want to set one record straight. And make sure you listen intently because I won't repeat myself. If anyone says one more word about Raquel, they're off the heist, effective immediately. I won't tolerate anyone to talk to my wife like that. Ever again. And that's available for all of you." He eyed every single person in the room and if looks could kill, there'd be no survivors. They've never seen him so mad, so furious, displaying so much emotion and they froze, listening to his words. At least most of them did. Andrés and Raquel were nudging each other under the table, winking, desperately trying not to smile, hearing the way Sergio addressed her. His wife. 

"You can say whatever you want about me, Daniel. Probably most of those things would be true. But if you really believe I didn't care about Agustín, that I didn't cry when he died, that I haven't blamed myself these last three years for his death... So many nights, I replayed again and again that moment, desperately wanting to go back and be there to get Tokyo to the hangar, so he wouldn't have to die..." Tears raced down his cheeks and he stopped to recover his breath. Raquel patted the cushion on his chair, encouraging him to sit back down and offering him a glass of water. He obeyed, taking a big gulp of the liquid, as he looked around the table. 

Andrés was passing a few napkins to Monica who was quietly sobbing, while Tokyo pretended to have something in her eye. Nairobi was playing with the tablecloth, avoiding his glance. The only one looking at him was Denver. His face was flushed and his eyes were welling up with tears, as he opened his mouth to respond, to apologize, to take back all he said, but the professor stopped him. 

"So if you want to leave, if you don't trust me or Raquel, for that matter, get up and leave. I won't keep you here. And if you remember, I didn't force you to do anything the first time, either. You entered the mint willingly. And your dad did, too." He rubbed his eyes, not being able to see clearly and continued. "Yes, it's my fault I wasn't there to help Tokyo. That's on me. But it's not my fault three bullets hit him. It's not my fault he stepped outside without a bulletproof vest. It's not my fault he didn't care, didn't think about the consequences when he risked his life to protect you, Tokyo and Rio... It's not my fault he was an honorable man, a strong, protective, loving father. It's not my fault he was so brave that he put his body in front of these bullets..." 

Denver jumped from his seat and hurried over to the professor. "Lo siento." he whispered as they were both now violently sobbing on each other's shoulder, embracing tightly. 

Shortly after, Tokyo joined them and both Sergio and Daniel opened their arms to welcome her. Nairobi was the next one to enter the hug, followed by a shaky Stockholm. And Helsinki. And after exchanging a look with Raquel, even Berlin joined them. 

And they stayed like that for a moment, holding onto each other, bawling their eyes for Moscow. And for Oslo. Their two fallen compañeros. 

Raquel would've liked to have a phone so badly, to be able to snap a picture of this moment. She was still sitting at the table, unsure about whether or not she should join them, but she chose not to. She wasn't part of the team. 

"Lisboa, what are you doing there? Come here." Denver said, through the stream of tears, gesturing in their direction.

She was wrong. She was one of them. And no one would ever doubt that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, guys! I'm sorry this is another sad chapter, but I promise they'll be happier times in the future. Please leave a comment if you want me to continue this story. :)


	6. Am I brave enough?

Raquel was listening to Nairobi's attempts to explain the concept of hang gliding to Tokyo and Palermo who, surprisingly, had no idea what that meant. It sounded exactly like the type of insane activity they would be down for, so it was ironic to see them so confused when the woman mentioned it. Helsinki was by her side, gesturing dramatically, imitating the movement of a kite in the air, as they were sharing their adventures from New Zealand. Hearing that they have spent the last three years together, Raquel wondered if they were a couple or just incredibly close friends. At the same time, she was trying to block out the idea of soaring through the air with only a huge triangle kite, feeling her stomach turn upside down. It didn't sound like something she would do, but at this point, what did? 

She politely excused herself from the table, searching for Sergio at the other end of the room, but she didn't even have time to spot him, as Andrés hurried in front of her, noticing her clouded gaze. "Is something wrong, Raquel?"

"Reunions are not exactly my area of expertise." she shrugged, heading in the direction of the sink and splashing some cold water on her face. "Especially if they involve hang gliding."

"So, correct me if I'm wrong here. Talking about guns and armed heists doesn't bother you, but God forbid someone mentioning hang gliding, right?" He teased, the corner of his mouth twitching into his cheek. Her expression was blank, as she kept tapping her nails on the counter, lost in thought.

"Should I ask him about it?" She ignored Berlin's remark and changed the topic, straightening her back to be able to look in his eyes. "Sergio, I mean." But there wasn't any need to explain, as the man knew straight away what she was talking about. His brother had previously referred to her as his wife in a heated discussion with Denver and his words were obviously twisting and turning in her head.

"I would suggest that you do ask him about it, as I doubt he'll even consider proposing anytime soon. His focus will be on the damned heist, not on wedding vows." She just nodded, mindlessly, staring at the wall. "Do you mind if I ask what is with all of this wedding talk, all of a sudden?" 

Raquel sighed, rubbing her temples, unsure of whether or not she should tell him the truth. "I guess I just realised how unfair and unpredictable life is and I have no actual certainty that I'll get out of that bank..." 

"Out of the what?" The man's eyes widened as he stared at her for a moment, completely baffled by her statement. "What are you talking about? You're not going in... Are you?" Berlin looked over his shoulder, spotting his brother at the table and Raquel followed his puzzled gaze. He figured Sergio had no idea about her plan, at least not yet. Otherwise she would probably be on the first plane back to the Philippines.

Glancing at the other part of the room, she couldn't help but frown. Monica was cackling at something Sergio said, covering her mouth with one hand and touching his with the other. It was no more than an innocent and friendly gesture, but she couldn't control feeling a bit irritated. Andrés almost wanted to make fun of the little line that appeared on her forehead, but this wasn't the time. Instead, he returned his attention to the woman in front of him, willing to listen to her reasoning.

"I've never been a cheerleader, Andrés, and I won't ever be one." She started, crossing her arms and shifting her posture, in order to at least try and appear a bit taller. "Sergio can handle it on his own from outside. He did it the first time, he can do it again."

He kept biting his lower lip, tempted to make a sarcastic remark, but at the same time being aware that it wasn't either the time or the place. He did it anyway. "But aren't you just a tiny bit worried that if you leave him alone, he'll fall in love with the next inspector? As you said, he did it the first time..." 

Raquel crossed her arms, waiting for the man to finish before starting again. "I refuse to hide while you and the others will be risking your lives inside that bank, alright? What am I supposed to do anyways? Go for a quick swim in the ocean? Paint my nails?" 

Andrés ran a hand through his hair, contemplating. She was just like him, desperately needing to be part of the action, to be in charge, to rule. Hiding behind screens, thousands of miles away wasn't made for them. The man remembered how he just jumped at the possibility of taking part in one last insane heist before it was all over, without even giving it a proper thought. 

He chuckled, snapping out of his trance and focusing his eyes on her face. Raquel's head was slightly tilted downwards, whilst her eyes were fixed on his in a silly attempt to persuade him. Whether or not it was the puppy dog face that convinced Berlin, she'll never know, but the man found himself nodding.

"So you'll help me convince Sergio?" Raquel asked, raising an eyebrow at him, as they began walking towards the table, back to their compañeros.

"I am aware I look dashing in a suit, Raquel, but I'm not a magician. I can't perform miracles. Especially not overnight. What I can do, on the other hand, is have a chat with my dear brother, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. We both know he can be quite stubborn." 

They were just a few steps away from the table, when Berlin suddenly stopped and grabbed Lisboa's arm, looking straight into her confused eyes. "But before I do that, you have to promise me you'll get out of that bank unharmed." 

"I promise." She whispered and softly brushed her hand against his shoulder, before taking a seat by Sergio's side and joining his ongoing conversation with Monica. 

Berlin felt a faint, hesitant touch on the small of his back, as he was blankly staring at the ground. Raising his gaze, he met Martín's worried expression. "How are you feeling, cariño?" 

"Relieved, now that you're here." Andrés responded, cupping the other man's cheek and tenderly caressing the circles under his eyes. He couldn't figure out whether they were from sleep deprivation or crying, but settled on both. "I almost thought you've left me for hang gliding, you looked so excited when Nairobi mentioned it." 

Martín sighed loudly, feeling his chest tighten. "Like I'd ever leave you." 

"Maybe you should." Berlin wanted to say, but the words were stuck in the back of his throat, frightened to come out. Each time he laid his eyes on his fiance's worn out face, he felt like the most selfish person in the world. And he probably was. 

Instead, he just tilted his head in the direction of the door, asking a question they both knew the answer to. "Ready to call it a night?" Their fingers intertwined and they shared an exhausted smile, before walking through the endless corridors that led to their bedroom. 

*

Raquel was tirelessly searching for a topic to discuss with Monica, after Sergio left the two women alone at the table. Both of them kept glancing around the room, tapping their feet on the ground nervously, sharing a small, but genuine smile each time they made eye contact. 

"I've got to ask." the former inspector started, recalling their first meeting in the Mint. "You went through with your pregnancy, right?" It was more of a statement than it was a question, but the woman nodded warmly.

"We had a beautiful baby boy, he's almost three years old now." She paused, gazing at the door as Denver entered the room. He wasn't alone. "You'll never guess how we named him."

"Look who's here!" Denver's proud smile covered his entire face as he kneeled near the little boy and ruffled his blonde curls. "Everyone, meet Cincinnati!" He frowned, trying to repair his disheveled hair while glancing around the room at the unfamiliar faces. 

"Cincinnati?!" Tokyo gasped, staring at Monica for a moment, before bursting into laughter. Honestly, it was only appropriate for Stockholm and Denver to name their child after yet another city. After all, they did meet in the middle of a heist and fell in love after he shot her in the leg.

"Don't look at me. It was his father's idea." The woman shrugged, bitting her lower lip. Her eyes lit up as the toddler made his way across the room and climbed in her arms, overwhelmed by the loud noise. "He barely got some sleep in after the exhausting roadtrip, he's a bit cranky."

"And it's way past your bedtime, big guy." Denver added, staring at the clock on the kitchen wall. "Come on, let's put you to bed."

After the couple left, Raquel and Sergio decided to call it a night, too and return to their room. They had a big day ahead of them and they needed the rest. Or at least, that's the excuse they came up with to leave the kitchen, as the woman had other plans.

*

"So, when are we getting married?" Raquel asked jokingly, closing the door behind her and turning to watch Sergio reach for the buttons of his shirt. He stopped before being able to open one, flabbergasted by her question. 

"You found it?" He frowned, thinking about every possibility in which she could have found the ring he bought few weeks after her arrival in Palawan. It was in the bottom drawer of his office desk, hidden behind thousands of papers and books, a place she'd never look.

"Found it? What are you talking about?" She was so cute with her eyebrows raised, that he almost forgot what conversation they were having. Sergio unbuttoned his shirt and folded it carefully, putting it in the laundry basket.

"No, what are you talking about?" He pivoted on his heel to face her again, unsure of what to do. She clearly had no idea about the ring and he just ruined the surprise he had planned. 

Raquel had both her hands on her hips and was staring at him, confused. He was wrong, she was even cuter when she frowned. "I-...I was only joking. You referred to me as your wife earlier this evening, while you were talking to Denver and... Wait, you bought a ring?" 

"Yes." Sergio mumbled slowly as the woman broke into a smile and hurried over to him, jumping in his arms. Her soft lips met his and their kiss was everything but tender. 

"When? And why haven't you asked me sooner?" Raquel questioned him, breaking away from his embrace. Those two questions shifted and turned in her mind, unable to find an appropriate answer. Especially to the second one. Was he actually doubting her response? What took him so long? Was he unsure of their love? Of his feelings?

"I was just waiting for a green light from someone before I could ask you." Sergio cupped her face again, dragging her back to continue what they started.

She backed away again, even more confused. "Green light? From whom? My mom? She would've said yes right away..." 

"No, not from your mother. From Paula." He saw Raquel's eyes welling up with tears at the mention of her daughter's name. "I wanted her permission to marry you. I wanted her on board with this. Her happiness and yours are the most important things in the world, Raquel." She was biting her lips, trying not to burst into tears, but failing completely. "Come on, no more crying today." He wiped her cheeks gently, embracing her afterwards.

"They're happy tears." She said, leaving a kiss on his bare shoulder. "Have I ever told you how much i love you?" She had no idea how to express the gratitude and affection she was feeling. She couldn't believe he was real. So thoughtful, so attentive, so considerate. She couldn't have picked a better man, a better husband, a better father for her daughter.

"You've showed me, quite a couple of times..." he replied smirking. She rolled her eyes, both wanting to kiss him and punch him in the face. She decided to go with the first and climbed on his lap, pressing her lips over his, roughly. 

"Meet me in the bathroom in a couple minutes and I'll show you just how happy I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, guys! I apologize for taking so much time to upload this chapter, but I felt completely stuck. I feel like this quarantine is finally getting to me. :)  
> It's not the best chapter, but I hope you can still enjoy it.  
> Tell me in the comments which characters/pairs/couples you'd like to see more of. I feel like I'm so used to writing only Serquel and Belermo that I forget about the others, lol.


	7. I'll always stand by you

"You still haven't answered my question." Sergio suddenly realized, as they were laying in bed, on the verge of falling asleep. They were both feeling completely worn out from their steamy bath, especially because it continued to the bedroom. 

"I don't remember you asking me." Raquel replied playfully, shifting in order to be able to look in her boyfriend's drowsy eyes. 

"You didn't give me the chance to." He chuckled, seeing her outraged expression. "I would've done it sooner, Raquel. Much, much sooner. Do you want to know when I bought the ring?" The former inspector nodded slowly, drawing small circles on Sergio's chest. "Two weeks after you came to Palawan." The woman froze, this wasn't the answer she expected. 

"Two weeks after I came to Palawan?" Raquel repeated, involuntarily letting out a gasp. Sergio's smile widened as he focused on that memory, remembering the loneliness he felt before her arrival and how hopeless he was. He was spending most days reading, trying whatever activity he could find, only to keep his mind busy. He kept telling himself that she won't come, that she probably hated him, that he had to move on, to forget her somehow. He almost called Andrés a few times, wanting to join his brother in his adventures, desperate not to be alone. He knew it was completely insane to still be waiting for her, after all this time, but his heart wasn't allowing him to give up on her. Not yet. Not ever.

"From the moment I saw you at that bar in Palawan, Raquel, I realized I will never love anyone else as much as I loved you." He caught her hand in his and brushed his lips against the back of her palm. "I couldn't believe you came, I couldn't believe you still felt the same after an entire year. I wasn't exactly planning on buying a ring, because I had no idea if it will work... or how it will work, but I did. And I held onto it, hoping that one day I would actually get to ask you. I was hoping to do it after the heist, you know? After we get the band out of the bank, we'll return to our house in Palawan and finally get married."

"I don't want to wait, Sergio." Raquel interrupted him, wiping the tears from her eyes. "We don't know what could happen, what could go wrong." The woman knew she was supposed to tell him about her plans to enter the bank, but she couldn't bring herself to ruin this moment, this night. "Let's do it here."

"Here?" The man asked, staring out the window at the starry sky.

"It doesn't matter where we are as long as we are together. We'll fly Paula and my mother in and we'll have a beautiful, small ceremony. Your brother is here, our friends, it's perfect." Raquel could picture it already. The flowers, the tables, her dress. Before realizing, her eyes filled with tears, she couldn't wait to marry him. "Are we really doing this?" 

Sergio could sense something was off, but he just nodded, forcing a joyful smile on his face. "We are." He was just as excited as Raquel about the wedding, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. 

They went into his office to grab the ring he's had for over three years, cleverly hidden between papers and folders in his desk drawer. Sergio kneeled in front of her, opening the tiny purple box to reveal a white gold stunning ring, crowned with a gorgeous, shiny diamond. The band was composed of two strands of metal delicately twisted together, resembling the symbol for infinity and limitless love. It was so simple, yet so romantic and perfect. He asked her properly this time and she didn't even consider it for one more second before responding with her whole heart.

_I do._

/

"You should do it, you know?" Andrés whispered, more to himself than to Martín, finally finding the courage to vocalize his relentless thoughts. He was so frightened to say the next words, so terrified of them coming true, but he knew he had to. "Leave, Martín. Leave me." He closed his eyes in an attempt to keep the tears from flowing, secretly wishing the other man was asleep. But Andrés knew he wasn't. These last few day his fiance had trouble sleeping, constantly being haunted by the same nightmare. Again and again. Each time he dozed off, even if it was for less than a hour, he was harshly awakened by the same images. Images of his lover's death. He woke up each time screaming Berlin's name, frightened and breathless, only calming down at the sight of his lover sleeping soundly by his side. Or at least pretending to sleep. Palermo didn't want to talk about those nightmares and the other man was understanding enough not to force him into a conversation he wasn't ready for. All he knew was that he hated himself for putting his lover through this pain and he had to let him go.

"I've told you on various occasions, cariño, that my decision stays the same." Martín replied, rolling over in their bed in order to face him. "No matter what happens, I'll always be by your side. I'm here to stay. Until the very end." 

Berlin shook his head, biting his lips harshly to keep himself from bursting into tears. He kissed Palermo's forehead, dragging him closer and caressing his teary cheek. "I don't deserve you." 

"Maybe you don't." Martín whispered, turning to leave a tender kiss on his lover's lips. "But you also don't deserve this, you don't deserve to... to die. You deserve better, mi amor, you deserve to grow old and pass away peacefully in your sleep after ninety years of living your best life, after seeing the whole world, after trying everything there is to try, after..." He swallowed hard, burying his head into a pillow, unable to control his sobs. 

"You're the one who deserves better. All I'm able to do nowadays is make you cry and I can't stand it." Berlin sat up and cupped his face, forcing the other man to look into his eyes. Martín was strong, so strong, but right now, looking at him in the light coming from the starry sky, he could see he was one blow away from breaking. Glancing at the bangs under his eyes from the lack of sleep he was getting and the accentuated wrinkles on his forehead, Berlin sighed. _Love shouldn't do this to you_ , he thought, _love shouldn't weaken you, it shouldn't destroy you, it shouldn't leave you completely empty._ "I want a better life for you. One without worry, one without tears, one with someone who is able to give you all the things you deserve, slow dances, walks in the moonlight, breakfast in bed on a lazy Sunday... Someone who can grow old with you, someone who will write poems about you and realize from the beginning how incredibly lucky they are to have you, not a decade later. I was so stupid, Martín, so stupid. I've wasted so much of our time..." 

Palermo's attempts at hiding his pain behind a joyful smile failed completely. He felt his soul crumbling, his insides twisting and burning and yet somehow he managed to speak, to hope. "Then let's keep looking. There has to be some other treatment, something we haven't tried yet. I won't give up on you." Berlin was wrong. Palermo wasn't on the verge of breaking down. On the contrary, he was prepared to _fight_. "We'll overcome this. Together." 

The man just nodded, closing in the distance between them to leave a fiery kiss on his fiance's lips. Hope made its way into both of their hearts, slowly healing their open wounds. They had no guarantee everything will turn out fine, but they had each other. And it was more than enough.

"I love you." Berlin barely managed to whisper, as their kiss deepened, growing more and more desperate. They swiftly removed each other's clothes, losing themselves in their lover's touch. 

/ 

It was the first time in over a week when he wasn't awakened by his awful dreams. Palermo couldn't help but smile remembering the previous night, especially the way it ended. He couldn't wait to start calling doctors all around the globe, searching for a cure or some other medication for his soon-to-be husband. He felt it in his heart that they will be successful, that they will win this battle. They had to.

He rolled over, wanting to embrace Andrés and rest his head on his fiance's chest, but he found the other side of the bed empty and cold. His eyebrows shifted into a concerned frown and he stood up, looking for his trousers. 

/ 

Andrés was in the kitchen, cursing after having burned his third attempt at making a pancake. Martín was always the one who cooked for them ~~_and for good reason,_~~ but this time he wanted to surprise him and be the one to bring him breakfast.

"Need a hand?" Monica asked, holding tightly on the door handle and gasping at the mess in the kitchen. There were about a _dozen_ dirty pans and bowls scattered around the room, covering each countertop. "Did you have a war with those pancakes?" 

"Pretty much." Berlin said, rubbing his face and allowing the woman to try and salvage the breakfast. He stared at the mess in the room for a moment, before deciding to do the dishes, the only thing he could actually do without burning the whole monastery down. 

"So, how have you been, Berlin? The two of us never really had a chance to talk." She broke the silence, catching the pancake she threw in the air and placing it on a plate. "We kinda started off on the wrong foot, don't you think?" 

The question made the man burst into laughter. "Started off on the wrong foot?" He repeated, turning off the water and looking over his shoulder to catch her smirking at him.

"Well, it's true that most people use this phrase when they are late to an interview or get into a small argument with their new colleagues and our first proper meeting was... eventful, to say the least. But I think it works, somehow." Berlin's eyes darted about as he shifted in discomfort, remembering the moment he ordered her execution. He wanted to apologize for his previous behaviour, but the man had no idea how to even begin such a sentence. He doubted _'I'm deeply sorry for ordering Denver to kill you, but if it weren't for me, you'd probably be working at the Mint as we speak, so I guess you're welcome?'_ would work. 

Monica's smile softened understanding his troubled expression. "You don't need to apologize, honestly. It's all in the past. We're different people now and we can start over, if you want." She shrugged, dumping another pancake in the pile. 

"I'd love to." He reciprocated her smile and joined her near the oven, stretching out his hand. "Andrés de Fonollosa, pleased to meet you." 

"Stockholm." She announced, shaking his hand. "Nice to meet you, too." Berlin couldn't help but grin, today seemed to be a new beginning for everything. 

Their attention was drawn to the sound of steps coming from outside the kitchen. Cincinnati burst into the room, giggling, followed closely by Raquel. They were apparently having some sort of a running contest to see who could reach Monica first. The little boy ran into his mother's arms and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"You beat me!" Raquel declared, approaching the pair to high five the little guy. His small hand held tightly to hers for a moment and the two new friends shared a mischievous smile.

"Thank you for looking after him, Raquel. As you can see I took a little detour from the bathroom..." Monica chuckled, ruffling her son's hair and tilting her head in Andrés' direction. 

The man found it hilarious seeing both Cincinnati and Raquel's faces lit up at the same time when they noticed the stack of pancakes. 

"Pancakes two mornings in a row? I already love it here." Lisboa's eyes were beaming as she grabbed two plates and moved in the direction of the table with Cincinnati behind her. She filled the pancake with chocolate and blackberries, before handing it to him. 

Andrés was gathering the ingredients from the cupboard to make more batter when he spotted a disoriented Martín entering the kitchen. "Morning!" he mumbled, running a hand through his hair. The moment he saw the other man adding sugar into a bowl, his entire face lit up, just like Cincinnati's did when he laid eyes on the pancakes. 

"Good morning to you, too, sexy pants." Berlin made his way across the room to place a tender kiss on his lips. "I made pancakes." He announced, caressing the other man's cheek. Palermo raised an eyebrow at him, glancing at his hands which were covered in powder and flour. "Well, I had some help, it's true." Monica waved at them from the stove, crinkling her nose at Andrés. "Ok, she did all the work." He gave up, shrugging. The women exchanged amused gazes between bites and throwing pancakes in the air. 

"Can I help you with anything?" Martín asked Stockholm, wiping the flour from his face. "I can do the next round." 

"His pancakes are heavenly." Lisboa intervened, but quickly wished she didn't. Monica crossed her arms defensively and narrowed her eyes, staring at the former inspector. "But they pale in comparison to yours. Clearly." She avoided her gaze and offered Cincinnati a tissue to clean the melted chocolate from the corners of his mouth.

"Nice save." Berlin nudged her with his elbow, pressing his lips together. "I have something to tell you." He whispered to the woman sitting next to him.

"I have something to tell you, too." Raquel replied, trying not to sound too excited. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I have to deeply apologize to you guys for the lack of content over the last few days. I had to catch up on the countless assignments I've been putting off for over a month and I had no time to write.  
> I hope you can still enjoy this chapter. :) Feel free to leave a comment about you'd like to see more of! Thank you for reading!🥺


	8. How much are you willing to lose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I felt that was portrayed awfully in the show was the rapidity of the character's decisions to join the second heist. This chapter and the next will be mainly focus on that, on their thought process, on their uncertainty. There will be a lot of angst, but also heart warming moments.

"Listen, Denver, before we start... I have to admit, I've never done this before." Sergio began timidly, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "And I'm not good at this sort of thing. Maybe you should go ask Palermo or–...or Helsinki, they might be able to help. They may have more experience with this…" 

"Chill out, professor, we're only building a crib." Denver replied, staring at the scattered pieces laying on the ground, hands on hips, unsure of what he’s supposed to do first. To him, they all looked the same. "How hard can it be? It's not like organizing a damned heist. We got this." 

Sergio just nodded mindlessly, before narrowing his eyes. "Where's the user manual?" The older man scrutinized the room quickly, searching for the missing object. He could have sworn he saw it somewhere near the pile of wooden pieces just a couple of minutes ago.

"The what?" Denver asked, leaning over to grab the front frame of the railing. It was surprisingly heavy for a silly piece of wood, he thought, or maybe it seemed that way because he had lost his physical condition during these past few years. He blamed it all on Monica’s brilliant cooking abilities. "Do you think these go here?" He inquired, examining a tiny bag of silvery screws.

"The book with instructions?" Sergio insisted, grimacing at the sight of his compañero forcefully shoving one of the screws in a far too small hole. "No, those definitely don't go there."

"Oh, that thing... I threw it out." he said casually, like they were simply discussing the weather. "Yeah, you're right, they don't."

Sergio froze in place, staring at the focused man kneeling in front of him with wide opened eyes. "Excuse me?" 

"I said they don't go there." 

"The _other_ thing." He was already panicking, rubbing his hands together. The professor hoped he misunderstood his words.

"Oh, yeah, I threw it out." Denver repeated, unbothered by the other man's reaction, as he was trying to fit the screw inside yet another unfit section. "We don't need it anyways."

"We– we don't?" Sergio mumbled, attempting to swallow the lump forming in his throat. "How are we supposed to know what goes where then? And how–"

"Come on, professor, you didn't need a user manual for the heist and you don't need one now, either. We'll just follow our instincts." 

Sergio wanted argue with him about the fact that he did actually have quite a few instruction manuals for the heist. Notebooks and files and folders and he even had every possible scenario written down, but he knew it was pointless. "Instincts? You want to build your son's crib based on your instincts?" Denver ignored him and stood up, moving around the room to try another component. Sergio arranged the position of his glasses on his nose, wrapping his head around the situation, trying to come up with a plan, with _something_. "Wait, Cincinnati had a crib previously, correct? You must have assembled one before."

"Monica did," he mumbled, finally finding the holes which fit the screws, "she made me watch the Teletubbies with Cincinnati while she figured it out. I promised her I'd build this one. Actually, we made a bet about it and I can't lose." 

_"I'm sure she used both the guide and her brain to do that. And you seem to be using neither."_ Was what Sergio intended to say, but the mental image of Denver and Cincinnati singing along to theme song of an animated cartoon drowned all his other thoughts. As did the idea of Denver and Monica making a bet about building a crib. He almost forgot how much everyone's life changed those past years. He wished he could have seen them, their happy, beautiful family, enjoying their time together, raising Cincinnati, before this madness began.

A smile widened on his face, making crinkles appear round his eyes. "So after watching cartoons for three years straight you've come back to take part in the most outrageous heist anyone's ever seen?" As soon as he allowed those words to leave his mouth, he regretted it. Guilt crawled inside his stomach, set ablaze by nothing more than a half glance from Denver. 

The younger man stepped back from the pieces he barely put together, shrugging. "Pretty much."

The professor rapidly noticed the reluctance in his voice, along with his hunched posture. Even though Denver forgave him, Sergio was beginning to think he’ll never forgive himself. It’s been over four years and guilt still stained his body, his mind, like an ugly scar. "I hope you both know you're not bound to enter the bank. You can step down anytime, Daniel, no one will judge you if you do. Quite the contrary.” Sergio placed a steady arm on the man's shoulder, gripping him slightly. His eyes grew soft, at the same time the grin dissapeared from his face. "We both know that’s the smart move. Besides, I won't allow for you to lose yet _another_ member of your family, especially as your son needs you both. Talk it over with Monica and–" 

“She’s determined to go in, but I don’t want her to, professor. I can’t lose her too.” Denver shook his head, letting out a tired sigh. 

“Did you tell her that?” The younger man shook his head. “Then do it, talk to her. She knows what you’ve been through, about what happened to your father. I’m certain she will understand.”

“And what if she doesn’t? Anything can happen inside that bank, you know it.” Denver insisted, his eyebrows furrowed, “I’d be completely lost without her. She's my rock, my family.” He returned to the pieces scattered on the ground, tears welling up in his eyes. "Look at me, I can’t even build a fucking crib without her.” 

Sergio opened his mouth to answer, but Denver cut him off. "I’ll just go get Monica." He continued, running a hand through his hair. “She’ll know what to do. She always does.”

“Wait, wait, don’t.” Sergio intervened, stopping him from taking any steps further. “Grab the railing and help me out here.” He added, bending to align two pieces together.

The professor knew this wasn’t about the crib, but he didn’t say another word to the other man about it, understating his worry and fear more than he’d like. Sergio just focused on getting the wooden railings to fit, avoiding the thoughts which have been haunting him ever since they started planning this heist.   
_What if Raquel decided she wanted to enter the bank alongside the others?_ He _couldn’t_ lose her either. 

He had to do _something_ to prevent anyone from losing any more people they love. But what was he to do? 

/

Raquel swallowed hard, attempting to wrap her head around Berlin’s words. She had no idea what to expect when he dragged her in the interior garden, but clearly not this. ”So you’re going to start looking for a treatment again?” were the only words she could mutter, taken aback by the sudden overflow of information.

Andrés hated when his condition was brought up in conversations, she had learnt that back in the Mint when she spilled his deepest secret to the entire band, hoping to provoke havoc, so they never really talked about it ever since. Honestly, they avoided the subject so much that sometimes she even forgot he was living on borrowed time. It was so easy to forget about his disease, so easy to let yourself be fooled by his impeccable appearance and smug smile... but in the end it was all a charade. One Andrés was so accustomed to, one he's put on all his life. 

"I owe it to Martín to at least try," he replied, barely taking his eyes off the drawing he was working on. "He's always been the one fighting for me. Now, I'm the one who has to fight. For him, for me, for our future. I want a future with him, Raquel. I really do." Andrés' smile was so wide, so warm, so hopeful, which made the woman's heart break in half. She closed her eyes, feeling a shiver crawl down her spine, _this wasn't right_ , a voice in her mind kept repeating. _This wasn't how it was supposed to be_. _They shouldn't have to go through so much pain, so much suffering, it wasn't fair. They shouldn't have to fight in order to have a future._

Involuntarily, her mind raced to a future of her own. Was she throwing it all away by entering the bank? No, no she wasn't. 

_Or was she?_

She had no guarantee that she would exit that place alive, no guarantee of ever returning to her family, to Paula, to Sergio, no guarantee... Raquel tried to push those thoughts aside and focus on Berlin's words, but failed to do so. _What would her future even look like?_ Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than what they've already had those past few years in Palawan. Her daughter and her soon-to-be husband were the only family she needed.

Gazing now at the man in front of her, she wasn't certain that was true anymore. Strangely enough, she felt peaceful, happy, _at home_ in this rustic place, surrounded by people she's considered enemies just a little while ago. It was ironic to think that the most persistent feeling of belonging she’s _ever_ felt was with a band of wanted thieves and her criminal mastermind of a fiance. It was truly laughable.

  
Raquel wanted to reassure Andrés that everything will turn out fine, that he will find a treatment, that he will have a beautiful future, but the words were trapped inside her throat. Instead, she just sat there, her eyes lingering on his face. The man was only a few meters away from her, sitting on the edge of the fountain, scribbling in his notebook. Just by looking at him, you could never guess the pain he’s been through, nor the misfortune which followed him throughout his life.

"I hope you'll get it," she announced fiercely, as they linked eyes, "and we'll share many moments like this... Happier ones, hopefully." 

He nodded eagerly and brushed off the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "Enough about me," Andrés intervened, shifting on the cold edge of the fountain, abandoning his work, "if I recall correctly you had something to confess yourself. Have you reconsidered entering the bank?" 

Berlin noticed the way Raquel's eyes clouded at the mention of his future. She completely zoomed out, lost in thought. The man felt offended by her lack of interest in his words at first, before laying eyes on her troubled expression, so he decided to ask her about it.

Raquel stared at the man, eyes wide opened, shaking her head slightly, probably confused as to how could he read into her thoughts. She was about to respond to his query, when her attention was drawn to the kitchen. 

"He's worried about you," Andrés whispered, following her gaze to where Sergio was now sitting, "he has feared your desire to participate in the heist from the beginning." Raquel could see how her fiance's eyes swiftly searched the room, looking for her. As soon as he noticed she wasn't there, a small frown appeared on his face. "I vouched for you, Raquel, for your strength, for your abilities, but Sergio's right, you have too much to lose." 

"Don't we all?" she snapped back, letting out an exasperated sigh. 

"Some have more to lose than others. You have a daughter, Raquel, a family." She wanted to argue with him that Monica and Denver had a son too and no one seemed to oppose the idea of their participation in the heist, but she couldn't. She knew the man was right, so she decided to remain silent and watch him shrug.

"What I meant to say," he continued, running a hand through his hair, "is that you have plenty of time to make a decision. Unlike some people here, you have a beautiful future ahead of you. Don’t give it up.” 

“You're right, but I–“

“I know I’m right. I’m always right.” Andrés smirked, glancing over his shoulder to look at the people seated at the table.

Only that they _weren’t sitting_ anymore. From their rigid postures and troubled expressions, Berlin understood something was wrong.

“They’re fighting again.” He rubbed his face and stood up, cutting off the woman who was just about to speak. “It’s like they’re in kindergarten. Every day they find a new reason to fight, or they just fight over the same thing again and again. Even in the Mint. I still don’t know how we got of there alive. This is the most dysfunctional group of people I’ve ever seen.” 

Sergio’s angered voice echoed all the way to the interior garden, making Raquel's grin shatter to the ground. Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at the man standing in from of her. Berlin’s alarmed expression worried her even more.

With no more than a tilt of his head, they moved into their compañeros' direction, concerned about what they're about to walk into.

/

  
“Told you I'd win.” Stockholm elbowed Nairobi when her husband entered the kitchen, walking towards the table sheepishly. “Already coming to ask for help? How long has it been?” She chuckled, checking the invisible watch on her wrist.

  
“It’s still longer than I expected.” Nairobi added teasingly, wiping the chocolate from Cincinnati’s hands, it was pretty pointless anyways. He was in desperate need of a bath as his clothes, face and even hair were stained with chocolate.

“Did you at least manage to get the pieces out of the box?” Tokyo puffed, stuffing a pancake in her mouth. 

“He probably even broke some.” Nairobi continued, smirking.

“For your information,” Denver began, leaving a kiss on Monica’s forehead before throwing his body onto a chair next to her, “we actually built the crib.” 

“We?” the three women asked at the same time as Sergio made his way into the room, looking a bit disheveled.

Nairobi was the first one to put it all together, “That’s cheating, you can’t have the professor help you!”, she complained, crossing her arms. 

“Worry not, girls. I’m pretty sure Denver did most of the work, anyways. Old habits die hard, don’t they, Sergio? And when it comes to the professor, he can never do the job on his own, always pinning it on someone else.” Palermo complained, gesturing with both hands in the man's direction.

“Any of you know where Raq– Lisboa is?” Sergio asked, completely oblivious to their conversation, as he was searching the room for his fiancee. He needed to talk to her, he needed to make sure she wasn’t going to endanger her life by joining the heist.

He would have preferred to know her on an exotic island, spending time with their daughter instead of being here, risking it all for someone she’s never truly met, but no matter how much he insisted, she still came. Raquel _always_ got her way with Sergio. He could never say no to her.

“Chatting with your brother.” Palermo spitted out, unaware of their company. 

“ _Brother_?!” Tokyo inquired, leaving her chair indignated. “Berlin is your _brother_?!” 

Tokyo had no idea why that infuriated her so much. Maybe it was the lack of sleep talking, or the guilt, or the worry, or the pure, gut-wrenching fear. She was so angry at herself for screwing everything up and she just exploded, needing to release her anger. The woman knew this wasn’t something the band could quickly fix and she was beginning to doubt the professor could fix it, too.

Without intending, without realizing, she channeled her sadness on the wrong person. On _her guardian angel_. The one person who helped her, who trusted her, who saved her life twice, who was now trying his best to save Rio’s life despite the danger and uncertainty that came with organizing another heist.

“Well, would you look at that? Another thrilling piece of information! First, we find out you’re sleeping with the inspector from our case, and now this? We’ve been here for less than 2 days, how many more curveballs can you throw at us, professor?” Both Denver and Nairobi protested, advising her to shut her mouth, but she didn’t even flinch.

  
Sergio’s ears were buzzing, he was also being suffocated from guilt and worry and fear. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Moscow and Oslo, their memory etched into his mind. He remembered his promise to them, his actions that lead to their death, how he could have prevented them from happening...

And even worse, he saw Denver and Helsinki sobbing over their dead bodies, gripping their only families tight as they fell into death's cold claws...

He was so overwhelmed, so stressed about the imperfections of the plan, so guilty for putting his compañeros through this much pain, so worried about losing Raquel, so frustrated with Rio and Tokyo’s mistake, so frightened by the thought of losing anyone else in their quest to save Rio, so terrified of his brother’s critical condition, so– so…

  
“We wouldn’t even need to be here if it wasn’t for you, Tokyo,” he finally exploded, “we wouldn’t have to risk our lives again if it wasn’t for your ignorance, for your stupidity!” 

“ _Risk our lives_?! _I_ was the one to risk _my_ life inside that bank, _I_ almost went to prison when your dear _brother_ threw me out of the Mint, _I_ almost died when the police entered that place. _We_ risked our lives, professor, not you! So never tell me again about how you risked your life, because you fucking didn't. You hid in that fucking hangar and– "

“Tokyo, that’s enough!” Denver tried again, but the girl was exactly like him when it came to anger, nothing could stop her from speaking her mind.

“ _Rio_ risked his life, _Rio_ fought for your stupid plan! We trusted you, we were ready to give our lives for your plan and _what did you do_? While we were inside that hell hole? You were too busy _fucking_ the inspector to alert us about the hostages' plans to escape, too busy to get me to the hangar... I hope you know Moscow and Oslo died because of it.”

Nairobi was about to drag Tokyo out of the room. She rolled her eyes at Stockholm, who appeared to have the same intentions as her own. They simultaneously moved in their friend's direction, when the professor snapped back.

“You think I’m talking about myself? About my life?” Sergio was so exhausted of this conversation, of this argument, of this constant fighting. He was blaming himself enough on his own, he didn’t need Tokyo to scream in his face like that. _Especially_ when she was the reason they were all here. 

The only thing he wanted in that moment, or _most moments_ was to hug Raquel, to bury his face in her neck, to feel her soft hands brush against his skin, in his hair… He was so tired, so powerless, so done with planning.

“I’m talking about Denver and Monica, because they’re the ones with the most to lose. They have a _son_ , Tokyo! A son. They've built a life together, a beautiful one."

The woman allowed herself to snap out of her anger for a moment and look, _actually look_ at the people standing around the table. The professor was right. How could he ask them to give up everything they've built only to repair _her_ foolish mistake? How could she ask them to leave behind their Cincinnati with no guarantee of coming back to him, of seeing him grow, of hugging him ever again? She was so _selfish._

"And Raquel– Raquel has a daughter, a family, but she’s here. Nairobi, Helsinki, Palermo and even my brother with his terminal disease." Sergio stopped, seeing the tears welling up in Tokyo's eyes. "They’re all here. It’s them I’m talking about.” 

“Rio is family, too.” She whispered, unclenching her fists, she was so close to breaking down.

Sergio couldn’t quite disagree with her on that. Despite his best efforts, he had grown to care for each one of them. So much that he himself considered them his family.

“I’m not saying he isn’t, but that’s not the point. Also, we don’t even know if we can save him, if he’s even still alive...”

“He is. He has to be.” The woman shook her head, dismissing the possibility. He _had_ to be alive. He had to, because otherwise… _No_. Rio had to be alive.

“Maybe. Maybe he is and maybe we’ll be able to save him, but Tokyo, I’m afraid it’s too dangerous. This time, the police will be even more ruthless, impatient, plus the plan is not ideal…”

“Still complaining about it, are we?” Berlin asked, stepping in the room alongside Lisboa. He noticed the tense situation they were facing and tried to resolve it with the one thing he knew best, sarcasm. “I leave for a minute and you all start bickering like children. What’s wrong this time? Did somebody steal someone else’s toy?”

"This is not the time to joke around, Berlin." Nairobi said, rolling her eyes so hard the man feared they'd pop out of their socket. Stockholm had a similar reaction, only she tried to conceal hers a bit more. He couldn't see Tokyo's face, but they weren't on the greatest terms anyways so he could be certain she was pissed off, too. Martín was the only one smirking at him, biting his lower lip to suppress a laugh from escaping his throat. 

Sergio, on the other hand, hadn't heard a thing after Raquel stepped in the room. He felt so relieved to see her. For a moment he forgot where they were, what they were supposed to be doing and just stared at her, remembering their time in Palawan. He would give everything to be back there with her and Paula.

Her eyes were scrutinizing his own, a wave of worry flushing over the woman’s features. “Everything alright?” she asked, approaching the table. The band seemed to quickly understand the question was only meant for the professor, as they awaited his answer. 

Sergio shook his head slightly before replying, “Can we talk? Outside?” 

  
She nodded, feeling her heart speed up as he intertwined his fingers with hers and walked back to the interior garden. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm back _for good._ I will update every two days from now on, that could mean the chapters will be shorter, but we'll see. Hope you enjoyed this chapter somehow. :) Feel free to write your thoughts/ideas/suggestions below.  
> See you soon, guys!


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